RUGBY OR LEAGUE.

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 21, 16 October 1930, Page 12

RUGBY OR LEAGUE.

SCHOOL FOOTBALL DISPUTE

< UNFAIRNESS NOT SHOWN."

DECISION OF COMMITTEE ,_ After investigating t'ae charges, that schoolboys who play League football in preference to Rugby Union have been victimised, the Gladstone Road School Committee is satisfied that injustice has not been done by the attitude adopted -by the school sportsmaster, states the Auckland "Star.":-. Writing to. the headmaster, Mr A. J. Hall, the chairman of the school committee, Mr A.G. Gallagher, < stated] that the committee had decided thg,t the master had not shown an unfairness and had* not in any way. attempted to victimise, certain boys. '' We decided) that in case any of the boys misunderstood the position to ask you to make it clear to themthat they are at liberty to play whatever^ game they like on Saturday, the only re- i striction; being that if they play League .j tliey can still play in the school Rugby , team but will jujjLbe' eligible for the Rugby representative team," he added. LEAGUE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Although the committee is apparently 9s\tisned about the position, League offi- ~ eials have carried the dispute la. stage further. The chairman of the primary schools Rugby League management committee, Mr B. E. Newport, yin a si&aed statement said that he had investigated the recent trouble at the Gladstone yßoad school and found that the Mount Albert League Club was emphatic in the statement that the schoolboys' team was withdrawn owing to the action of one of the teachers of the school. He also found) that one of the members of the school team who was induced to leave the code was picked for and played in the Rugby "Onion representative team. BOY SENT HOME. "I have also learned that although the chairman of the school committee states that the boys were informed that they were free to play whichever game they liked on Saturdays, the teacher in question last week sent,one of the boys home at lunch time to get a statement j from his mother to the effect that she j would prefer him to play the Union game," added the- statement. "In my opinion this only serves to aggravate the teacher's first offence. Aa this particular boy is not in the" habit of going home for lunch it appears as if the object was to get a statement without consulting the boy's father, during a subsequent conversation the boy's father intimated that he did not approve of tactics such as these. As there appears to be a misunderstanding as to the identity of the teacher responsible for these tactics, I should like to point but that the headmaster of the school is in no way conperned in the matter. • REMARKABLE ATTITUDE. . "Another point is the attitude of th« \ , League authorities in the matter of the boys playing the two games. We do not object to the boys playing Rugby for their particular schools'and they are perfectly free to choose either code. The action. of*the Rugby Union authorities in objecting to thS selection of any of the

boys playing League is only another exjainjjle of the' remarkable.^titii^e ,taken up by them on tKis question and which1 can only result in increasing the prestige of the League code. I refer now to the boys who previously played Rugby • Unidn for. their schools oTliiiig^ the week ;aiid played League on Saturday afternoons under the control of a League coach. Possibly the fact that we formerly had only four teams under our jurisdiction, a number that has increased to seventeen during the past season, may be responsible for the attitude; taken up by teachers interested .in the Rugby Union game. • Certainly we strongly object to them dictating to both the: par : ' ents and to the boys themselves regard-, ing the particular game-they shall play. 7 STATEMENT BY HEADMASTER The suggestion that boys who played League feared that if they, did not 'abate ' don the game they would be penalised . when it cameifo -the proficiency examina-" tion, is strongly resented ; by Mr Hall. .He intimated that more would probably be, heard of the allegation. The boy who was supposed to have been intimidated, he said, was in one section of Std VI.. ; not taught by the teacher in charge of the Rugby game, but the boy himself asked for permission; to transfer to that teacher's class. That did not look as though the lad had been victimised. . "The attitude we have adopted/ 7 explained Mr Hall, "is that Rugby is the recognised game of the school. Up till this year no trouble has arisen over the boys who play League, although teachers have once or twice adviseds them to support the Rugby Union game, ThisT year, however, the Public Schools' Rugby Union decided at the instigation of the Auckland Rugby Union that boys who played League at any tiiae would not .be eligible for play in the Rugby r^p. gam^s. As the representative of the western group of the school union, a I member of my staff informed the bbys • that before he could nominate. them for possible places in the rep. team, he must get from them an understanding that j they would not play League after he had 1 nominated them for the reps. The boys regarded this as a promise binding them not to play any game but Rugby. It was not intended however^ as a binding but as a condition which must be fulfilled if the boys were to aspire to representative honours. The matter was explained by me to the school committee, and it was satisfied to leave the question in the j hands' of the school authorities." THE PARENTS' WISHES. v The teacher concerned said that it bad been made to appear that the Gladstone. School was the only one which had required) the boys to abandon League. That was not correct as in the three, represen- .' tative teams which played at-Pukekohe ' recently there were only five Rugby Union players. Only five boys we?e con- • aect|d With the dispute and they were preparM to give up League in order to gain places in .the : representatives; All the other boys in the school had continued to play League as before and were still playing, as far as he was aware, j Throe of the boys actually got into the representative team. The boys had been sent home in order that the wishes of the parents in the matter might be ascertain-" ed and also to prbve to the satisfaction

of the school committee that he was not acting at variance to those wishes. The boys all brought "from their homes letters stating v.hieh games it was wished; they should '],lay. Four parents replieoV in writing, anu one replied verbally, and they were all- decidedly in favour of th>rr sons playing Rugby Union. The boys had never been told tKey could not .play both games.